Immortal Poet
The Best Minion build

Build updated for Patch 3.5

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Poet's Pen is an extremely popular unique wand that provides one of the most efficient trigger mechanism in Path of Exile. Poet's Pen casts socketed Spells whenever you attack allowing you to spam any Spell you socket in them. While Poet's Pen is the core item of many powerful builds, this is the first end-game viable build that does not use them for DPS. After all, this is a Minion build, which utilizes Poet's Pen to spam utility, defensive, and mobility spells, as well as generate Virulence stacks for your Agony Crawler. 

You can also find the full list of our other Path of Exile Builds right here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This is not a typical Minion build. All you have to do is use Frenzy attacks to cast Spells socketed in Poet's Pens and jump between monster packs, generate Virulence and summon Sentinels of Purity. This is the most action-packed Minion build in the game, and as you only use one skill, it's extremely easy to master.  The core mechanics of this build are:

1. Frenzy and Bladefall should have both close to 100% Chance to Poison on Hit, allowing you to easily reach 40 Virulence stacks for Agony Crawler
2. The Coming Calamity allow you to use both Herald skills in six-link setups (six-link Coming Calamity, and four-link Elder Gloves with Faster Attacks and Chance to Bleed)
3. Immortal Call level 21 will grant permanent immunity to Physical Damage if you get all the required gear with reduced cooldown recovery speed, and manage to generate four Endurance Charges in approximately 2.5 seconds
4. Spells in your second Poet's Pen should work in the following sequence: Desecrate (create a pile of corpses) - Bodyswap (teleports you to one of the corpses) - Flesh Offering (grants a powerful buff for your Minions). You should try to get both the Desecrate and Flesh Offering Gems on level 21 as they shouldn't be expensive

0:06 Tier 15 Carcass 0:31 Tier 14 Palace 1:06 Tier 16 Guardian of the Minotaur 1:38 Tier 16 Guardian of the Hydra 2:10 Tier 16 Guardian of the Chimera 2:32 Tier 16 Guardian of the Phoenix This video was recorded on a level 86 Guardian with a total budget of 20 Exalted Orbs. Everything up to Shaper was completed with it. Couple extra levels for more Life bonuses will make this build Uber Elder viable

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling with Poet's Pen is the easiest of its kind. You can use any Spell you want in them and this will let you complete campaign in no time. You can use any Spell you want in Poet's Pen until you reach level 28, then you should get Bladefall Gem and Support it with Poison. This will allow you to generate enough Virulence stacks for Herald of Agony for the amazing DPS and smooth leveling. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Frenzy setup
	Frenzy - your primary attack skill. You should use it with Poet's Pen after you reach level 16. Until then you can use your basic attacks or Power Siphon
	Faster Attacks Support
	Life Gain on Hit Support

Freezing Pulse (both self-cast and early Poet's Pen)
	Freezing Pulse - very good leveling Spell which can be used from level one
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds Cold Damage to supported skills

Bladefall (Poet's Pen from level 28)
	Bladefall - a lot of ethereal blades fall from the sky damaging and poisoning enemies
	Poison Support - grants 60% chance to Poison on all Gem levels. This Gem becomes available at level 31. You can Support Bladefall with Lesser Poison Support if you are missing some extra DPS

Heralds
	Herald of Agony - summons Agony Crawler when you poison enemies
	Herald of Purity - summons Sentinels of Purity
	Minion Damage

Utility Gems
	Lightning Golem - increases your Attack Speed
	Warlord's Mark - the recommended Curse for this build. Until level 64 you will have to auto-cast it or use a low-level CwDT setup

Bandits:

We suggest killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Sanctity 2) Spiritual Command 3) Heart and Soul 4) Cruel Preparation 5) Death Attunement

61 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Redemption 2) Spiritual Aid 3) Constitution 4) Gravepact

Recommended leveling items:

Praxis - amazing leveling ring which will help you sustain your Frenzy spam
+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

Goldrim - one of the best leveling Helmets in Path of Exile. It grants amazing bonus Elemental Resistances
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

The Poet’s Pen - the core weapons for this build. They can be used as soon as you reach level 12
(11-15)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels (8-12)% increased Attack Speed Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

114 Points Final Skill Tree
114 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Harmony of Purpose
2. Radiant Crusade
3. Unwavering Crusade
4. Bastion of Hope

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali 5% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time; 10% chance to Avoid Lightning Damage when Hit

Minor God: Soul of Shakari 5% reduced chaos damage taken; 25% reduced chaos damage over time taken while in a caustic cloud

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Frenzy setup
	Frenzy - your primary Attack Skill which triggers all your Spells and in consequence summon all the Minions
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Frenzy's projectiles
	Faster Attacks Support
	Poison Support

[DPS] Herald of Agony (The Coming Calamity)
	Herald of Agony - lets you generate Virulence stacks whenever you Poison an enemy. Whenever you have Virulence, Agony Crawler is summoned which has increased Damage for each point of Virulence you have
	Minion Damage Support
	Vile Toxins Support - grants increased damage with Hits for each Poison on the enemy
	Damage on Full Life Support - greatly increases the DPS of Agony Crawler when it's on full Life
	Empower Support - increases the level of Herald of Purity Gem by up to three levels. In total, you can use Herald of Purity on level 26 which deals insane DPS on 40 Virulence stacks
	Summon Phantasm on Kill Support - summons additional Minions to fight for you. If you somehow manage to get a third red socket on the Coming Calamity - replace this Gem with Maim Support

[DPS] Herald of Purity (Elder Gloves)
	Herald of Purity - summons up to four Sentinels of Purity whenever you kill an enemy. Sentinels of Purity are powerful Melee Minions that benefit greatly from Guardian's Ascendancy
	Minion Damage Support
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Maim Support - increases Physical Damage and grants your Sentinels a chance to Maim enemies on hit lowering their Movement Speed
Elder Gloves Support Gems:
	Faster Attacks Support
	Chance to Bleed Support - adds flat Physical Damage and increases your Sentinels' chance to inflict Bleeding

[AURA] Clarity (Unset Ring)
	Clarity - grants increased Mana Regeneration. Use it only at level 1 in an Unset Ring

[UTILITY] Lightning Golem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - auto-casts all supported Spells
	Summon Lightning Golem
	Holy Relic - a Minion Spell which grants a Life Regen. Aura to you and your other Minions
	Convocation - teleports all your Minions to your location and grants them increased Life Regen.

[UTILITY] Bladefall and Immortal Call (first Poet's Pen)
	Bladefall
	Poison Support
	Immortal Call - use at the maximum level possible which increases the duration of the buff

[UTILITY] Desecrate, Bodyswap, Flesh Offering (second Poet's Pen)
	Desecrate - creates a pile of corpses for other Spells in this setup
	Bodyswap - teleports you to a nearby corpse and cause an explosion
	Flesh Offering - consumes corpses and grants a terrific buff to your Minions

5. Gear Setup

This build is very easy to complete, as long as you can afford the Poet's Pen wands. All the other items can be random Rares, and four-linked Coming Calamity will cost just a few Chaos Orbs. Elder and Shaper items listed below are the end-game equipment for this build, which is not required for low and mid-tier mapping.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rare Bone Helmet - the best in the slot for this build. Do not enchant it as it will remove the implicit modifier.

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 35% Fire Resistance 35% Cold Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35-40% increased Minion Damage Optional affixes: maximum Mana

(Weapon) The Poet’s Pen - the core item for this build. You have to dual-wield those

(11-15)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels (8-12)% increased Attack Speed Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack

(Body Armour) The Coming Calamity - a must have for this build otherwise you won't be able to use two fully-linked Herald setups

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) +2 to Level of Socketed Herald Gems (80-100)% increased Energy Shield 35% chance to avoid being Stunned for each Herald Skill affecting you Mana Reservation of Herald Skills is always 45%

(Boots) Rare Boots - preferably Dexterity base to make it easier to get four Green Sockets on them

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 35 Dexterity 25% increased Movement Speed 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Cooldown Recovery Speed (Shaper item)

Boot enchantment: Regenerate 2% of Life and Mana per second if you were Hit Recently 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) The Flow Untethered - the best belt for this build. Not only it reduces the cooldown on Poet's Pen Spells and Immortal Call, but grants you the Harbinger of Time skill. It will periodically create Slipstreams which increase Action Speed for you and your Minions

(15-25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery Grants Summon Harbinger of Time Skill (10-15)% increased Attack and Cast Speed (15-20)% increased Energy Shield Recovery rate (15-20)% increased Life Recovery rate (15-20)% increased Cooldown Recovery Speed Debuffs on you expire (15-20)% faster

(Belt) Rare Shaper Belt - aim to get the highest defensive stats

Min. requirements: 110 Maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances increased Cooldown Recovery Speed (Shaper item)

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - should provide as much Life, Dexterity, and Elemental Resistances as possible

Min. requirements: 60 Maximum Life 20 Dexterity 35% Fire Resistance 35% Cold Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: maximum Mana

(Ring) Rare Unset Ring - required to grant extra socket for the level.1 Clarity Gem. It should be easier to get the Warlord's Mark Curse on this Ring since it's one of the least popular Ring bases

Min. requirements: 65 maximum Life 35 Dexterity 40% Fire Resistance Curses enemies with level 12 Warlord's Mark on Hit (Elder item) Socket Optional affixes: maximum Mana

(Ring) Rare Ring - should provide Life and all the remaining Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 15% Fire Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Mana Regeneration Rate Attack Speed

(Gloves) Rare Elder Gloves - should grant at least the Faster Attack Support for your Herald of Purity Gem

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life Socketed Gems are Supported by level 18 Faster Attacks 40 Dexterity Optional affixes: Socketed Gems are Supported by level 18 Chance to Bleed Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - without Watcher's Eye that reduces your Mana Cost while under the effect of Clarity this build may feel clunky

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana -(10-5) to Total Mana Cost of Skills while affected by Clarity

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - it's important to include Chance to Poison on all Rare Jewels to make it easier to maintain 40 Virulence stacks

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Minion Damage increased Chance to Poison on Hit Optional affixes: Dexterity Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Abyss Jewels - which provide higher DPS for your Minions than Cobalt Jewels, however, you should use them only in extra sockets after you reach 100% Chance to Poison (most likely your 6th and 7th Jewel)

Recommended affixes: maximum Life Minions deal additional Physical Damage Minions have increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: maximum Mana

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Ample Hallowed Hybrid Flask of Warding (Curse immunity) Experimenter's Aquamarine Flask of Heat (Freeze and Chill immunity) Experimenter's Silver Flask of Grounding (Shock immunity) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed)

If you have any other build requests or suggestings concerning our Immortal Poet Minion build, leave a comment below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.